Having lived in London since 2006, I can simplify the government's / council's reasoning down to one very simple formula
If proposition = money, print then yes
Simple as that. They'll hide it behind environmental, safety, noise pollution, anything they can get away with, but if it'll make them money, it's only a matter of time. You can resist, you can create petitions, you can lie in the road - it doesn't matter. It'll get shoved down your throat whether you like it or not. I never realised quite how bad it is until I started doing some research in to moving abroad - England's political system is so self-serving it's unreal. They literally do not care about anything other than their bottom line.